Month: February 2014

A day after a powerful U.S. House committee chairman unveiled what may be the most comprehensive tax reform bill since 1986, lawmakers in both parties in Congress gave the plan a collective shrug, as it created next to no momentum for action on tax reform among either Democrats or Republicans …

Even without the support of GOP leaders in the Congress, the Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee unveiled his plans for major individual and business tax reform at the federal level, arguing it is time to streamline the code and promote new economic growth at all levels. …

Congressional budget analysts say a Republican plan to change the threshold in the Obama health law for employer health coverage would raise the deficit by over $7 billion a year, cost a million people health insurance coverage and increase the number of uninsured Americans by up to 500,000. “This estimate …

In remarks to reporters at the Pentagon on Monday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel laid out a series of details about President Obama’s budget plan for defense in 2015, the first real postwar budget since the September 11 attacks led to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even as he detailed the …

While both parties are jabbing furiously at each other over major issues like the Obama health law, a minimum wage increase, climate change, entitlement spending reform and more, don’t look for much of that to be up for actual votes anytime soon in the U.S. House or Senate. After all …

A week after the Congress reversed course on a plan to save money by limiting yearly cost-of-living-adjustments for military retirement pay, the White House made clear its new budget for 2015 will not include a similar plan to limit yearly increases in Social Security benefits as a way to save …

From Atlanta, Georgia With new primary and caucus rules in place from Republicans for the next race for the White House, elections officials in the south are already talking about putting together their own regional primary for 2016 as a way to enhance their influence in that Presidential election year. …

A review by internal auditors at the Internal Revenue Service confirms that top executives at the IRS who traveled extensively for tax agency work did not have certain federal tax laws applied to them – as they would be to ordinary Americans – for what is known as Long Term …

Over the weekend, President Obama signed into law a bill that suspends the nation’s debt limit until March 15, 2015. As some in the GOP labeled it a ‘blank check,’ it did raise the obvious question – how much will the debt increase during that time? If we look at …

The Obama Administration released new figures on private health insurance signups for the Obama health law, showing that almost 3.3 million people have enrolled in the plan. “These encouraging trends show that more Americans are enrolling every day, and finding quality, affordable coverage in the Marketplace,” said Health Secretary Kathleen …